Wherever We May Roam
by Ciardha
Summary: Alternate post "Chosen" crossover with X-treme X-men. Rogue and Gambit have a brief encounter with Spike, Buffy and Dawn.


Keri Wilson   
  
  
  
Title: Wherever We May Roam (BTVS/X-men crossover)   
  
(rating PG, or a very mild PG-13)   
  
Part 1 of 1   
  
  
  
Rogue and Gambit property of Marvel Comics, Spike, Buffy, and Dawn   
  
are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc.   
  
  
  
Alternate Universe. As in Xtreme X-men, Gambit and Rogue took a leave   
  
of absence from the team while their powers slowly returned after a   
  
battle where they both almost died, and also to get time alone   
  
together to really discover each other (Yes, that way too ;). They   
  
have been traveling around the country having interesting adventures.   
  
Alternate post Chosen universe. Spike survives and he and Buffy are   
  
finally officially a couple- Buffy having declared her love for Spike   
  
right before she saved him. Buffy and Spike decided to split off from   
  
the rest of the Sunnydale refugees- most having never truly accepted   
  
Spike, but Dawn demands to go with   
  
them. (Putting a slight cramp on some of the activities Buffy and   
  
Spike want to indulge in ;) The encounter takes place in between the   
  
former Sunnydale and Los Angeles.   
  
  
  
I "blame" James Marsters for inspiring this fic with his enthusiastic   
  
positive response when asked at Dragon Con 2003 if he'd like to play   
  
Gambit in a X-men movie. ;)   
  
  
  
Title comes from a John Lennon song from 1980 titled "Clean Up Time"   
  
The full line is: "However Far We Travel, Wherever We May Roam, the   
  
Center of Our Circle Will Always Be Our Home."   
  
  
  
Southern California   
  
May 21, 2003 10 PM   
  
  
  
"Remy ah swear if you tell me again that restaurant is just up the   
  
road a couple o' more blocks I'll scream. We've been driving on these   
  
bikes at least 30 miles since yah started saying that. I'm hungry   
  
enough now I could eat both o' our bikes and still be starvin'"   
  
  
  
Remy sighed as he took his turn filling up the gas tank on his bike.   
  
Rogue was pissed off now and probably nothing he could say would help   
  
other than: "There's the restaurant right over there and I'll pay for   
  
both our meals". He'd been silently praying to Saint Christopher that   
  
the restaurant would be right around the next bend for the last 10 miles.   
  
Especially since they hadn't eaten since starting out this morning and he   
  
was getting pretty hungry as well.   
  
  
  
The problem started about 50 miles back the road, when they had to   
  
make an unexpected detour around some town called Sunnydale. All the   
  
cops would say was there had been a major localized earthquake and   
  
the roads were impassable.   
  
Rogue might be able to fly up briefly to see if she could spot the   
  
restaurant but he hated to ask and it might be risky with her being   
  
tired and hungry. Remy started to feel guilty. He wondered if the   
  
small grocery store had chocolate fudge frozen yogurt- Rogue's favorite   
  
flavor. And hey he wouldn't turn it down either. Oh well groveling time,   
  
with a little Cajun charm thrown in for good measure.   
  
  
  
"I'm really sorry, chere, detour threw me off. I t'ought we were back   
  
on route. Guess have t' admit I'm lost. You wanna see if we can get   
  
some food t' hold us in little hole in a wall grocery here?"   
  
  
  
It was Rogue's turn to sigh, if she didn't feel so crabby from being   
  
hungry she might have smiled at Remy actually admitting to being   
  
lost. That whole male ego thing- never admit you're lost... She   
  
smiled lopsidedly in spite of feeling kind of bitchy. "If they have   
  
chocolate fudge yogurt or ice-cream I'll forgive you" She threw back   
  
to him as she sashayed toward the dinky gas station grocery.   
  
  
  
Remy admired that rear view as he turned his bike around. She had the   
  
most beautiful body he'd ever laid eyes on, or hands on- for that   
  
matter, he smirked. He'd noticed that the first time they met, long   
  
before he'd fallen in love with her.   
  
  
  
The road had been so quiet as they drove the past few miles Remy had   
  
relaxed and taken off his sunglasses. He often wore even at night,   
  
to hide his glowing red on black eyes that clearly marked him as a   
  
mutant. Those eyes had since the day he was born- earned him his   
  
first nickname: Le Diable Blanc- the white devil. People feared the   
  
child with the glowing eyes on the streets of New Orleans, in those   
  
days mutancy was unknown to the public, and he was assumed to be some   
  
sort of demonic child.   
  
  
  
He had lived a hard and lonely life until his adoptive father Jean-   
  
Luc LeBeau had taken him in at 8 years old. After that he'd at least   
  
felt loved and wanted by his father and eventually by his much older   
  
stepbrother. Henri's wife Merci and Tante Mattie had enthusiastically   
  
embraced their new family member.   
  
  
  
Tante Mattie had been like a mother to him, made him go to church,   
  
taught him to respect women, the value of learning... Merci had   
  
taught him how to charm the ladies, not by direct actions, but by   
  
watching her work a room. She could have every man in a room hanging   
  
onto her every word in nothing flat.   
  
  
  
Then there was Belladonna Boudreaux, his first love. The marriage had   
  
been a mistake, but with years and distance, and more maturity on   
  
both their parts, they'd evolved a sort of friendship and mutual   
  
respect. He wished her the same happiness and sense of family he'd   
  
found with Rogue- hopefully minus the several years of heartbreaks   
  
it'd taken the two of them to finally come together.   
  
  
  
Remy had been so lost in thought he jumped when a really ugly   
  
minivan, with all the windows not only very darkly tinted, but every   
  
one but the front windshield and driver's side painted over black,   
  
pulled into the gas station. Remy quickly turned his head away and   
  
looked for his sunglasses. He hoped Rogue would hurry up with   
  
whatever she decided to get. Whoever was in that van obviously didn't   
  
want anyone seeing in it, or them. This could be a very dangerous   
  
situation, and with only nominal levels of their powers, something   
  
he'd rather not tangle with. He covertly watched who got out from the   
  
corner of his eye.   
  
  
  
He relaxed slightly when the first person out of the minivan was a   
  
small woman about 5' 3'', pretty, with long blonde hair. She was   
  
probably about Rogue's age. Next out was a slightly taller girl,   
  
also pretty, but definitely a teenager, with long light brown hair.   
  
  
  
Remy immediately tensed up though, when the third occupant emerged. A   
  
man who looked to be maybe around his age, with short hair slicked   
  
back and dyed a bright blond, wearing a black duster. The man appeared   
  
shorter than him, but gave off a vibe that said "I'm dangerous, don't cross me".   
  
  
  
A second too late Remy realized that the blond man had noticed what   
  
he was doing. The woman and girl continued toward the grocery,   
  
but the man began to walk toward him, giving off a menacing attitude. Remy   
  
turned around and faced the approaching man with an easy smile and   
  
open relaxed posture, but inside he tensed for a fight. When the   
  
blonde haired woman realized the man had not followed them she turned   
  
around and called out questioningly-   
  
"Spike?"   
  
  
  
"It's okay luv, just going to ask mister curious here a few   
  
questions."   
  
  
  
Remy quickly ran through his options, the man was clearly British,   
  
definitely a fighter- going around with a name like Spike was a   
  
definite clue! But something about his manner of moving made Remy   
  
sure the man was not just a human tough guy- too smooth. A mutant   
  
with heightened agility perhaps? Hmm play up the Cajun dialect, put   
  
the guy off guard thinking you're kind of ignorant, curious but   
  
friendly? Might work.   
  
  
  
"Hey mon ami, you know where abouts de closest eatin' place be?"   
  
  
  
Both the woman and the man were now staring at him oddly; the woman   
  
said "Huh?" She'd clearly not understood his accent. The man stopped,   
  
no longer radiating hostility, but slight confusion. He gave a slight   
  
shake of the head in the negative and then he said "Er, no, just traveling   
  
through ourselves."   
  
  
  
Rogue picked that moment to come out the door, one arm laden with an   
  
armload of snacks and two cups. Remy watched her tense up as she   
  
assessed the situation. When she realized a fight wasn't imminent she   
  
relaxed, pasted a smile on her face to match Remy's and slowly walked   
  
back to her bike. When she passed by the blond man she gave him a   
  
flirtatious wink that she knew was guaranteed to throw almost any man off.   
  
It worked on this man too, he relaxed and grinned at   
  
her. Rogue handed Remy one of the cups.   
  
  
  
"They had chocolate shakes shugah, so yoah half forgiven." Rogue   
  
teased.   
  
  
  
The blonde woman apparently comprehended Rogue's dialect slightly   
  
better because she smiled and asked, "They have chocolate shakes?"   
  
  
  
"Yeah, but not mah favorite chocolate fudge yogurt"   
  
  
  
"Oh I guess they wouldn't have my favorite either then, chocolate   
  
chip cookie dough ice cream"   
  
  
  
"Nah, they're pretty sparse on stuff, just the basics, chocolate,   
  
vanilla, strawberry ice cream. Nothin' in real food neither, just   
  
snacks."   
  
  
  
The man Remy assumed was called Spike shrugged, deeming them no real   
  
threat and turned toward the store. He called out to the   
  
woman, "Going to see if the bit has bought out the store and see if I   
  
can find something, pet. You want to keep talking to your new friends   
  
here you can."   
  
  
  
Buffy Summers rolled her eyes and after a brief glance after Spike,   
  
she turned back to these strange talking people, curious in spite of   
  
herself. Plus there was something sort of different about them. She   
  
tensed for a moment, could they be vamps or demons? They didn't   
  
quite give off that vibe. Her Slayer sense seemed more uncertain   
  
than threatened.   
  
  
  
"Hi, my names Buffy. What's yours?"   
  
  
  
Buffy thought the woman had strange hair- well maybe next to Spike   
  
not quite as strange. She had a white streak in her hair right at the   
  
front, and the rest was sort of reddish brown. The man seemed more   
  
normal, in looks except he was wearing sunglasses way after dark.   
  
Both were taller than normal though, especially the woman. She looked   
  
close to Spike's height, the man maybe a bit taller than Angel, but   
  
built like Spike. Something about both of them said they'd had   
  
training as fighters. Buffy realized it was the way they stood, like   
  
her, relaxed but ready to fight if necessary.   
  
  
  
"Ah'm Rogue and this is Gambit"   
  
  
  
Had to be fake names, like Spike, no one would name their kids such   
  
weird names. I still can't get a feel for what they are though. She   
  
took a couple of steps closer and realized even behind the glasses   
  
there was something very odd about this Gambit guy's eyes. She saw   
  
a distinct glow reflected on the rim of the glasses. She said softly   
  
but firmly, "What are you?" She looked directly at Gambit.   
  
  
  
Gambit gave Rogue a quick glance, and she nodded. He lowered his   
  
sunglasses. Buffy gasped and stepped back shocked. This guy's eyes   
  
were way freaky, no white, just glowing red on back.   
  
  
  
"We're mutant humans. I was born with dese eyes, like Rogue here had   
  
her white streak."   
  
  
  
Buffy guessed that was not all there was to it, but she also sensed   
  
no threats from them. She decided to see how they'd react when she   
  
told them what she was. "I'm the Slayer."   
  
  
  
Rogue tensed right back up, but also felt confused. "The Slayer?"   
  
Rogue thoughts raced with alarm, As in someone who kills? What does   
  
she kill and why? Is she one of those humans who rabidly hates   
  
mutants and murders them?   
  
  
  
Remy tensed as well, but the term somehow seemed to touch something   
  
he was struggling to remember, something from the Guild's past. Then   
  
it came to him.   
  
  
  
About 100 years ago there'd been a girl from the Ducenoux thief clan.   
  
She hadn't been like the 5 other daughters of that generation. She   
  
was eventually outcast from her clan; she was wandering New Orleans   
  
at night, and would come home covered in dust. The family assumed she   
  
had shamed herself and taken a lover. But after she was outcast   
  
stories began to circulate around New Orleans about her fighting   
  
vampires and other demons.   
  
  
  
Remy had assumed when he'd first heard the story from Tante Mattie,   
  
when he was still a child, it had just been one of her scary stories   
  
she told him as he went to sleep. Then as he was preparing for his   
  
tests to become a full-fledged member of the Thieves Guild of New   
  
Orleans, he'd seen the tale in Guild records with the girl's full   
  
name, parents and when she was born and died.   
  
  
  
By that time he'd discovered a bit about what he was, this word   
  
called mutant. He had wondered if the girl had been a mutant as well.   
  
They'd called her Eugenie, the Vampire Slayer, and made reference to   
  
some ancient power that mysteriously only called upon young girls,   
  
but only one at a time, giving them an overwhelming urge to go out   
  
and slay vampires and other dark beings until they were killed.   
  
Then the next girl would be called, sometimes in the same   
  
place. Other times, if the level of demonic infestation were low   
  
enough when the Slayer was killed, the strange power would move onto   
  
another place and call another girl. They're been no Slayer in   
  
New Orleans since Eugenie had died in 1908. She was a slayer two years.   
  
A demon pack infected her with their deadly poison before   
  
she killed them all. She was dead less than a week later.   
  
  
  
"So de legend is true?"   
  
  
  
"You've heard of the Slayer?"   
  
  
  
"Had one in New Orleans once, story got passed down t'rough de   
  
generations."   
  
  
  
Buffy nodded. "So you know what I am."   
  
  
  
Just at that moment Dawn came up to her sister breaking the   
  
tension. "Spikes all growly that they don't have any Whetabix, and   
  
the only meat they've got is beef jerky. What's beef jerky, and why   
  
do they call it that? Oh I got us both chocolate ice cream cones.   
  
They are so cheesy, just three flavors of ice cream, no yogurt, or   
  
sherbet, not even 31 flavors or whatever it is..."   
  
  
  
Rogue and Gambit grinned at each other and said quietly in   
  
unison, "Jubilee".   
  
  
  
Rogue continued in a whisper, "Ah didn't realize all teenage girls   
  
from southern California sounded like her." Rogue had definitely   
  
pegged both the woman and the girl as southern Californian natives,   
  
just like Jubilee.   
  
  
  
Gambit smirked, "been here a few times, and yep they do sound like   
  
her, at least teenagers do."   
  
  
  
"Been here a couple of times, but didn't hang out with people much,   
  
so ah hadn't heard enough to know."   
  
  
  
"What's the story on this Slayer thing, Remy?"   
  
  
  
"Long story, tell you later what I know. She's not a threat to us   
  
though. No more than we are to her."   
  
  
  
The teenage girl was still talking to Buffy in that endless stream of   
  
words. Rogue put away the snacks she'd bought into her bike pack and   
  
got on her bike. Gambit had already started his bike back up. Once he   
  
looked over at her Rogue smirked and waved back and forth one   
  
purchase she hadn't yet shown him- a roadmap of Southern California.   
  
She'd taken a good look at it before she'd come back out.   
  
  
  
This time she'd take the lead and he'd follow her. They were only a   
  
couple of turns off the route Gambit had been trying to get them on.   
  
Gambit threw up his hands and mouthed, "OK" as Rogue started up her   
  
bike.   
  
  
  
Spike walked out of the grocery with a pack of cigarettes, and a   
  
small box of hot wings he'd finally found. He even managed to persuade,   
  
without threats, much less going into vamp face, the manager to let   
  
him heat up in their microwave. He supposed it'd have to do until   
  
they reached some place that had a butcher shop where he could get,   
  
he sighed, pigs blood. Better than rat at least. God that was the   
  
most repulsive blood he'd ever survived on!   
  
  
  
How Rat boy, Spike grinned at his current insulting nickname for   
  
Angel, apparently got a taste for it he didn't know. Spike shuddered   
  
at the thought of spending 80 plus years eating rats. Seven weeks in   
  
the school basement had permanently repulsed him towards eating rat.   
  
Morally he couldn't go after humans anymore. The thought of that made   
  
him feel even sicker than he did thinking of rats.   
  
  
  
He was still Spike, the vampire, but since the soul it had felt more   
  
and more like a persona, one he put on for battle. He was conscious   
  
of being William, and a lot of times now it felt more real than being   
  
Spike. It helped, that while Buffy worried about his vulnerability   
  
when he was more William than Spike, she also would open up herself,   
  
by her own admission, more than she had to anyone else. Not even   
  
Angel had seen as much of the "true Buffy Summers".  
  
It still stunned him to have his dream come true; Buffy loved him,   
  
with all her heart. He'd lost some of the shame and deep embarrassment   
  
over being an overly sentimental man. Unlike Cecily, Buffy loved that   
  
part of him, every bit as much as she loved the fierce warrior who would   
  
leap into battle at her side.   
  
  
  
Spike watched the strange couple on the motorcycles drive off to the   
  
east, then he walked over to Buffy and Dawn and groused, "Only thing   
  
worth eating were these Hot Wings, and had to bloody beg to microwave   
  
them"   
  
  
  
Dawn grinned at him "What, not going for the beef jerky?"   
  
  
  
"Too much like eating rat."   
  
  
  
"Eww!" Both Buffy and Dawn chorused   
  
  
  
Spike grinned and put his arms around Buffy. She learned back against   
  
him "Um nice..."   
  
  
  
Dawn smirked and mock scolded them as she opened the van doors, "Get   
  
a room you two."   
  
  
  
"In good time, lil' bit, in good time."   
  
  
  
It felt good to not just have Buffy love him, but Dawn like him   
  
again. She treated him like family. It'd been a long time since he'd   
  
felt that. No matter that they didn't currently have one, being   
  
around these two Summers women, felt like home. 


End file.
